by B. J Daniels
“Not all Roma families still believe in the old ways, but my grandmother did. Under Roma law, the parents of the boy select the bride when both are very young. It is the responsibility of the parents to find their son an appropriate girl. They judge her value based on strength, stamina, health, disposition, manners and, above all, domestic skills. But they also look at the girl’s family. Usually they want one with a good reputation. In my case, the family looked at my grandmother who was a Loveridge, a strong, influential and respected family. Not my uncle who taught me how to pick pockets.”
“Wait, are you telling me you had an arranged marriage?” He sounded shocked. “They still do that in America?”
“Many Roma still do. They hold great value in their culture because for many that is all they have since they have no homeland. Customs, traditions, the laws that they have lived by since the thirteenth century are all they have after having been forced out of country after country.”
“How old were you when this happened?”
“Fifteen.”
“Fifteen?”
“I was promised to my husband’s family. A darro or dowry was paid to my uncle for me, so the deal was made.”
“That’s crazy. A bride price? Surely it can’t be legally binding.”
“My family believes that any woman who rejects a formal proposal is considered tarnished, an outcast. She brings disgrace not just to herself but to both families.”
Darby shook his head. “Dowries, arranged marriages, this is so archaic. You were sold to this man.”
“The money is to compensate the father for the loss of his daughter. It’s not to purchase a bride.”
“Really? Sure sounds that way to me. So what happened?”
She looked away. “I refused to marry him. I ran away. My future husband was having fun so he didn’t bother looking for me for a while even though most Romas marry in their teens or early twenties. My uncle pleaded with my intended to give me time. I was still young, ‘foolish...’ ‘Strong willed,’ he said. But because of that I would make a bride worth waiting for, he assured the family.” She swallowed. “Rafael wasn’t worried. He said he would beat that strong-willed foolishness out of me when the time came.”
Darby swore.
“I stayed away, hoping he would give up and find someone else. Then one day he and his cousins caught up with me. He made sure I didn’t get away. I was held in captivity right up until the wedding and then guarded by his cousins afterward. Some Roma still demand purity—and ultimately proof of it.”
Darby rose from the bed and began to pace. “Your wedding dress was torn and bloody.” He stopped pacing to look at her. “Whose blood was on it?”
Tears welled in her eyes. As one broke loose and started down her cheek, Darby stepped to her and caught it with his thumb. The rough feel of it sent a shiver through her. She reached up to take his hand. She placed a kiss in the center of his palm and held it to her cheek for a moment.
“The blood on the dress?” Darby asked again.
“His. Mine. After the wedding, he tried to...” Her voice broke. “I fought back. I couldn’t bear the thought of him...” She swallowed. “Now you understand what I’ve done. I’ve shamed him, his family and my own. But worse, I’ve put Rafael’s manhood in question. He can’t let that go.”
“What will he do when he finds you?” Darby asked as he knelt down in front of her and took both of her hands in his.
She looked down at their hands entwined together. “I am legally bound to Rafael under Roma law. Even though he is hated and feared in his Roma community, none of them will help me. He is a violent, hard, uncaring man and I fear him, but he is still my husband. He will force me to go back and be his wife. He will make me pay for the humiliation I put him through. If he doesn’t kill me, he’ll make me pay for the rest of my life. I can’t go to the police. For them, it is a domestic dispute. And in reality a restraining order is all but meaningless.” Mariah looked up. “Do you understand now why I have to keep running?”
Darby rose and pulled her up with him and into his arms. “You aren’t going anywhere, especially back with him. I won’t let you.” He drew back to look at her. What she saw in his gaze made her heart expand to near bursting. “Tell me you want to stay with me and fight.”
* * *
RAFAEL VALE LISTENED impatiently to the report from the private investigator.
“Just tell me where she is.”
The PI sighed. “She was in Gilt Edge, Montana. She’d apparently been there for some time working as a barmaid at a place called the Stagecoach Saloon. It’s a bar and café.”
Rafael cursed under his breath with disgust. It was against their culture for her to work. Could she dishonor him any more than she already had? Apparently so. Which was another reason she had to be stopped. He was sure she didn’t keep her head covered either, as a proper married woman should have done.
“I’m sorry, but one of the owners of the place, a cowboy by the name of Darby Cahill, helped her get away.”
“A cowboy?” He shook his head. As the elder of the family, his father had wanted to handle this. Vernon Vale was old-school, old country. His idea of rectifying this was to drag Mariah back, force her to obey her wedding vows and see that the marriage was consummated. Once her purity was lost to Rafael, they would be bound together, for better or worse.
And it would be for worse—at least for her. But even that was too good for Mariah. She had disgraced him, disgraced her family and his. He would not forgive. She deserved the most severe punishment.
Once she was dealt with, he could remarry. His father would take care of the details, but he already had someone in mind, someone better than Mariah, someone who would submit to him without bloodshed.
But before he could remarry, he had to annul his marriage in a way that appeased the humiliation she’d caused.
So he’d gone outside the family and hired a private investigator. He’d been right to do it. Finch had been tracking her for weeks. He’d finally caught up to her. Which told him that she was getting tired of running. Or that she thought enough time had gone by and she was safe. Why else would she stay this long in one place unless...
“Tell me about this cowboy,” Rafael said through gritted teeth. “Do you think she confided in him?”
“Possibly. He was very protective of her. I suspect he knew someone was looking for her before I arrived. The moment he saw me, he was suspicious and got her out of there. I hope it was all right—I gave him the...package you sent. Unfortunately, I was unable to serve her with the annulment papers.”
As if that had ever been Rafael’s intent. But he’d had to tell the PI something. “You did a good job. If you hear anything else from her, let me know. Otherwise, just send me your bill.” He hung up. Where the hell was Gilt Edge, Montana?
Just the thought of seeing Mariah again made him hard and furious. She’d gotten away from him before he could consummate the marriage. Not this time. He’d have her, force her to sign the annulment papers and then he’d kill her. It should be easy to get rid of her body in a place like Montana. Only then would he be free of her.
But it sounded as if he might have to get rid of the cowboy, as well.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND,” Mariah said, getting up to pace the two-room cabin. “If Rafael even thought that I cared about you...” She stopped to look at him.
“You mean if he saw you looking at me like that?”
She nodded.
“Or if he saw me looking at you the way I do?”
Again she nodded. “If he thought for a moment that we’d...”
“Made love? Mariah, we didn’t make love.”
She shook her head. “Even if he knew that you...touched me down there.” She closed her eyes, remembering what he�
�d done to her and how badly she’d wanted more. Opening her eyes, she locked gazes with him. “He’d kill us both.”
“Mariah, I’m not afraid of him.”
“You should be.”
“I want to do more than touch you. I want to make love to you.”
A moan escaped her lips as he stepped to her and took her in his arms.
“I’m a married woman.”
“No, you were forced into something you didn’t want. No law in this land would allow that contract to stand.”
“But Roma law would and does.”
He looked into her eyes. “Doesn’t Roma law require you to be with a Roma man?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Yes.”
“Then how many laws are you willing to break with me right now?”
From the beginning, she told herself that she would never marry Rafael. That she would prefer to die before that. And yet he’d caught her, dragged her back, forced her into the marriage. But she refused to let him rape her on their wedding night. He’d told her that he liked it rough, and that because he’d been forced to chase her down to get her to marry him, he was going to hurt her bad.
He’d grabbed her, telling her that once he had her he was going to use a wine bottle on her and anything else he could find in every orifice he wanted. That she was his now and he could do anything he wanted to her at any time. She’d fought back with everything she had in her—and had managed to get away after breaking that wine bottle over his head.
Was she ready to give up now? The private investigator had found her. By now he would have told Rafael. For all she knew, Rafael was on his way to Gilt Edge. He wouldn’t stop looking for her. He couldn’t remarry until he’d dealt with her.
She looked into Darby’s handsome face. She’d fallen for this cowboy. Under Roma law, she couldn’t be with him even if she wasn’t married. Her grandmother had begged her to live her life as a Roma and keep their heritage alive.
Her fingers went to the bracelet. Just the touch of it had always grounded her. She was Roma but she could no longer live by the ancient laws.
I’m sorry, Grandmother.
Stepping into Darby’s arms, she said, “You are willing to risk everything?”
“For you? Absolutely.”
* * *
“DARBY, I’M SCARED.”
He pulled Mariah closer. “Don’t be. I won’t let him hurt you, let alone take you.”
She shook her head. “Not for me. I can’t bear the thought that Rafael will try to hurt you, perhaps even kill you because of me.”
Darby knew the danger. He didn’t doubt that Mariah had every reason to be terrified of this man tracking her. He refused to think of Rafael as her husband.
“Don’t you realize that I would die before I’d let anyone hurt you?”
“I know.” Her eyes filled again with tears as she reached over and cupped his cheek. “That’s what terrifies me.” She pulled back. “I shouldn’t have involved you in this.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the bed beside him. “I was involved the moment I saw you out in the crowd at the Chokecherry Festival. I was up on the bandstand throwing Stagecoach Saloon T-shirts into the crowd, when I saw you. I felt as if I’d been hit by lightning.”
She shook her head as if thinking he wasn’t being serious.
“Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. As soon as I was done on the bandstand, I came looking for you.”
Mariah shook her head. “You were looking for me and I was looking for a mark. Not exactly the kind of romantic story you want to tell your children.” She turned to look at him. “I needed gas money and I was afraid to stay long enough to get a job.”
“Someone bumped into me...”
“Me,” she said with a laugh.
“I saw you as you went past me. I grabbed your scarf, determined to talk to you, and ended up pulling off your bracelet.”
“Making me drop your wallet.”
He laughed. “And the rest is history. I fell for you in spite of everything.”
Her eyes grew darker. “How is that possible? A woman like me? Weren’t you afraid I would come for my bracelet in the middle of the night?”
He chuckled. “I was waiting that first night. I even left open the door to my apartment and the back door of the saloon.”
“If only I had known.” She smiled at him. “I couldn’t believe you gave me the job.”
“I wanted to see how far you would go.”
Their gazes locked.
“Last night,” she began looking embarrassed. “I wanted you more than I have wanted anything. But I’ve broken so many rules in my life. I couldn’t.”
“And now?” Darby asked.
“It will only make things more dangerous.”
It was dangerous enough right now for her, he thought.
“If you and I were to make love...” Her voice broke. “And if Rafael thought for a minute that we had...” She shook her head. He could see the fear in her eyes. “He would kill me and then come after you.”
“Mariah, I fell for you right then and there at the festival. I know it sounds crazy. Believe me, I’m never telling a member of my family. Love at first sight? I’m not even sure Lillie believes in that.” He pulled her closer. “Over the past few weeks, I’ve only fallen harder. I didn’t care about your past. I still don’t. Mariah, I’m in love with you.”
Her dark eyes shone with tears. “Oh, Darby, I love you too. I found where you hid my bracelet.” She laughed at his surprise. “I didn’t take it because...because I didn’t want to leave you. As dangerous as I knew it was, I kept making excuses not to leave.”
“The other day you were packing,” he said.
She nodded. “I realized that I loved you too much to stay and put you in danger. That’s why you have to let me go.”
He shook his head. “We’re in this together now.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AFTER A SLEEPLESS NIGHT, Darby dropped Mariah off at his apartment. He asked his brothers Hawk and Cyrus to stay there until he got back. Since Billie Dee was already there cooking, they were glad to stick around and have breakfast with her.
Even if the private investigator had told Rafael Vale that he’d found Mariah, there was no way the man could have reached Montana yet. But still, he wasn’t taking any chances.
Retrieving the box from his closet, he took the wedding dress and drove to sheriff’s department.
“I need your help,” he told Flint after he’d closed the door behind him and taken a seat in front of his brother’s desk. He told him everything from the moment he’d seen Mariah at the Chokecherry Festival right up to last night and how he and Mariah had stayed up until dawn talking.
Flint made no comment, his expression staying lawman-like throughout. But as he finished, his brother looked worried.
“Did she go to the police?” his brother asked.
“No, she was led to believe she couldn’t trust the police to help her.”
“And the marriage ceremony happened? The marriage just wasn’t consummated?”
Darby nodded. “Can you find out if she is legally married? I’m thinking he might not have filed the paperwork after she left.”
“Even if the marriage isn’t legal, you think he’ll come after her?”
Darby nodded. “He hired a private investigator to track her down and bring her this box.”
Flint glanced at the large box warily.
“It’s her wedding dress. It’s torn and there is blood on it. Mariah says the blood belongs to the two of them. Apparently she put up a good fight. He’d told her in detail how he planned to rape her numerous times on their wedding night before she got away.”
His brother sighed as he leaned
back in his chair. “How exactly are you involved?”
“I’m in love with her.” The words were out. No truer words had been spoken, but he hadn’t wanted to tell his family yet.
Flint raised an eyebrow. “That was quick.”
“Quicker than you think. I know you don’t believe in love at first sight, but that’s what it was. Like a lightning bolt, and if you tell our brothers or Lillie, so help me I’ll—”
Flint held up his hand. “I’ll stop you right there before you threaten an officer of the law. I won’t say anything to Hawk or Cyrus. But I would imagine your sister already knows. I’m just not sure how finding out whether or not she is legally married will solve the problem, but,” he said, picking up the phone, “I’ll be happy to see what I can find out.”
He made a quick call and hung up. “I have someone checking into the marriage. But that aside, it sounds like her...intended is determined to consummate the marriage. So what is your plan?”
“Mariah’s been on the run for weeks. He’s going to catch up to her. I’ve talked her into staying here and fighting.”
“Staying with you at the saloon?”
He nodded.
“I can have a deputy drive by. Leave that front light on, the security one out front of the saloon. If it’s out, the deputy will know there’s trouble and call in for backup.”
“Thanks. It is probably going to get ugly. This man is apparently violent in all his dealings, not just with women.”
“Give me his name and I’ll see what I can find out about him.”
“Rafael Vale. He might be bringing reinforcements.”
“It would help if I know when he’s headed this way.”
“I suspect he’s already on his way,” Darby said. “But I’ll let you know if I hear anything. And thanks.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Flint said. “As sheriff. And as your brother.” But Darby could tell he was worried.
* * *
